MLS: Union's Fabinho seems fab on Philly

CHESTER — Amid the complex mix of Spanish, Portuguese and English from Fabinho, the braces-veneered smile of the 28-year-old Brazilian certainly comes through loud and clear.

What it says is that the newly signed left back has found a comfortable place with the Philadelphia Union and is ready to contribute.

“I’m very happy to be here,” he said through an interpreter Wednesday at PPL Park. “I’m working hard to help contribute. Coming from another country to here, it is really good competition and I just want to help the team.”

Those contributions can finally be felt in MLS games, the culmination of a long process between club and player. Formerly a trialist, Fabinho has been with the club for the better part of the last month, having been officially signed June 28.

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New signees weren’t eligible to appear in matches until the MLS Transfer Window opened Tuesday, leaving Fabinho to train with the team in the intermittent period.

Fabinho spent the last two seasons playing in Australia’s A League with Melbourne and Sydney. Even from the other side of the Pacific, the former Brazil Under-20 international heard of the promise of MLS, so much so that he pursued the opportunity once his contract with Sydney was voided by mutual consent in April.

“When I was in Australia, everyone there spoke very highly of MLS,” he said. “One of the motivations that I had here was everyone speaking so highly of this league and Philadelphia specifically. Now that I’m here, I just want to put in some good work and help the team.”

The process of acclimating to his new surroundings has been aided by his countryman, Kleberson. The designated player is six years Fabinho’s elder, but Kleberson’s status as a two-time World Cup participant for Brazil and successful export to some of Europe’s top leagues made him an attractive possible teammate.

“We played closely in Brazil,” Fabinho said. “Kleberson is a person in Brazil who everyone admires and I am glad that he was here. I’m able to help him a lot, and he’s able to help me a lot so we can contribute to the team.”

Fabinho, naturally a left back, is operating under the assumption that he’ll play that position for the Union. The starter there, Ray Gaddis, is not a naturally left-footed player, nor is Danny Cruz, who’s often been deployed on his weaker side on the midfield’s left flank.

Regardless of positioning, Union manager John Hackworth said Wednesday that he had not yet decided to whether Fabinho or fellow summer signee, 39-year-old Macedonian goalkeeper Oka Nikolov, would play in Friday’s game against Chivas. He did admit that both are in the mix for the matchday 18-man roster.

“As with anybody that we bring in, they’re battling with other players on the roster,” Hackworth said. “We don’t really want to rush a guy, but at the same time if a guy is ready and if he’s done it in training and had the kind of games for him to prepare, we’ll give them a chance. For both of them, we’re happy where they are and haven’t made the final decision on anyone.”

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The injury problems that blighted the Union on their recent road trip and forced Hackworth into a makeshift midfield against Houston seem to be lightening. Michael Farfan (ankle) and Cruz (hip) both participated in training the last two days and appear to be on course for selection. Kleberson has also taken steps forward from a quad strain that has ruled him out since pulling up lame against Toronto June 1, though Hackworth was more guarded about his prognosis.

That just leaves Michael Lahoud, who is still recovering from sports hernia surgery. He was unable to go through a full training session Wednesday.

Conor Casey (illness) was limited this week, though with the soon-to-be 32-year-old having started each of the last five matches, his training workload was expected to be lessened.

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Hackworth said he expects Chivas’ new signee Carlos Bocanegra to start Friday.

The American international, who has been capped 110 times and counts stops in England, France, Scotland and Spain among a rich club history, was acquired via the allocation process July 1.

Hackworth is familiar with Bocanegra from his work with the U.S. National team. One of Bocanegra’s teammates from the Chicago Fire from 2000-04 is current Union assistant Jim Curtin, so the familiarity with his game is significant.

“He’s a fantastic player. It certainly makes them a lot better,” Hackworth said. “He will bring instant leadership to that club and do a great job organizing the backline. My expectation is that he will play, and that just makes it that much harder for us to break them down. Carlos, I think, is coming back to the league at a point where he’s still really in a very good point as an individual. I know how he takes care of himself and the way he prepares for things, so I expect him to be in good form.”

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It’s been a mixed bag for the Union contingent at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Midfielder Keon Daniel scored the first goal for Trinidad and Tobago in the Soca Warriors’ 2-2 draw with El Salvador Monday. It’s his 14th goal in 57 caps.

Jack McInerney, meanwhile, is still waiting for his chance. The 20-year-old American didn’t make the matchday 18 for last Friday’s friendly waxing of Guatemala, 6-0, or Tuesday’s Group C opener against Belize, a 6-1 win that featured a hat trick from San Jose striker Chris Wondolowski.

“I’m really happy for Keon,” Hackworth said. “It’s funny because we were joking before Keon left that, ‘hey, I’ve seen you score some amazing goals for Trinidad; score a couple so that you’re going to come back here confident and then you can score a couple for us.’

“And I’ve been texting with Jack. He seems like he’s just soaking the whole experience in. I would’ve loved to see him get on, but hopefully he’ll get a chance here in the next couple of games.”